Are our young US sprinters ready to be role models?
If not role models, are they ready to carry the future of American sprinting on their backs? That along with the terrible reputation that American sprinting has endured as a result of more than just a few, greedy and ignorant past US "greats". To say that American track and field is under fire right now would be an understatement. With the new accusations that Mo Greene was doping, it adds just another name to the list of dominant American sprinters who we have put our hopes in over the past few years.
The short list of those who were caught or admitted to doping includes: Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin, Tim Montgomery, Kelly White and Tori Edwards. The list may soon grow longer depending on what happens with Maurice Green and the information which Trevor Graham as well as Angel Guillermo Heredia, a known supplier of performance-enhancing drugs, may disperse.
This puts an enormous amount of weight on our top US sprinters all of whom are 25 years old or under. This includes Lauryn Williams, Tyson Gay, Allyson Felix, Wallace Spearmon, LaShawn Merritt, Xavier Carter, Kerron Clement, Walter Dix, Sanya Richards and Jeremy Wariner, just to name a few. These runners will shape what happens in American track and field from a sprinting standpoint for the next 5-10 years depending on each runner's longevity and success in the sport. These careers could be shortened though due to overwhelming media pressures about drugs in the sport which was passed down to them unjustly by those who have come before them.
Consider this: over the course of the 108 history of the modern Olympic Games,
the United States sprinters have come home with a total of over 260 (I counted) medals which does not include the men and women's 400h event. To say that the United States sprint team has been the most dominant sect of track and field from any country in the Olympic Games would be tough to argue against And because the US has been the most dominant they will continue to be the center of the most scrutiny.
It would also be an understatement to say that these young sprinters not only have a legacy to uphold but the task of repairing not only the sport and the minds of the world. This task will be making sure that our sprinters are and will remain clean.
If the BALCO investigation against Greene holds any weight, the sport has not seen the end of this relentless gauntlet of users. Victor Conte shed some light on just those who were using just in the BALCO case alone:
This is going to be very big," said Conte, who has completed his own
jail sentence even though the government's prosecution of BALCO
continues to sprawl. "Something like 12 athletes who won 21 Olympic and
world championship medals. The IOC, IAAF, USOC are all turned upside
down now. This is huge." (New York Daily News)
No matter what happens, the credibility of US sprinting is scarred and will take many many years to repair. The unfortunate part about all of this is that these young sprinters will have to bare the results of whatever comes out in the BALCO case. It is difficult enough for them that they are already redefining American track and field as it is with their tremendous work ethic, talent and incredible performances but hopefully these performances will not all be under the skepticism of drug use.
It seems that the future is in good hands with these young sprinters as Allyson Felix was questioned this past week at the Penn Relays. Felix showed her maturity and integrity as she spoke about being apart of a USADA drug testing program in the future:
"I felt I've always been willing to submit to tests," she said. "We
want to do as much as we can to take a stand against doping, so I think
this program was the perfect thing, especially given the climate of the
sport right now." (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Hopefully our young sprinters can overcome the shadow that has been cast on them, especially heading into the Olympic Games in August. If these athletes are in anyway similar to Allyson Felix, then we can rest assured that the state of American sprinting in the future will someday be remedied.
